Head-To-Head Comparison: Ventas (NYSE:VTR) vs. Franklin Street Properties (NYSE:FSP)

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) and Franklin Street Properties (NYSE:FSP) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and profitability.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ventas and Franklin Street Properties”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ventas	$5.08 billion	5.68	$81.15 million	$0.33	199.88
Franklin Street Properties	$115.99 million	1.36	-$52.72 million	($0.64)	-2.38

Ventas has higher revenue and earnings than Franklin Street Properties. Franklin Street Properties is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ventas, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Ventas and Franklin Street Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ventas	0	3	7	2	2.92
Franklin Street Properties	0	0	0	0	0.00

Ventas presently has a consensus target price of $73.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.67%. Given Ventas’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Ventas is more favorable than Franklin Street Properties.

Profitability

This table compares Ventas and Franklin Street Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ventas	1.65%	0.82%	0.32%
Franklin Street Properties	-43.90%	-7.79%	-5.30%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

94.2% of Ventas shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.4% of Franklin Street Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Ventas shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 9.6% of Franklin Street Properties shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Ventas has a beta of 0.95, indicating that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Franklin Street Properties has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Ventas pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Franklin Street Properties pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Ventas pays out 581.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Franklin Street Properties pays out -6.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ventas has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Ventas is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Ventas beats Franklin Street Properties on 16 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ventas

Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR) is a leading S&P 500 real estate investment trust focused on delivering strong, sustainable shareholder returns by enabling exceptional environments that benefit a large and growing aging population. The Company's growth is fueled by its senior housing communities, which provide valuable services to residents and enable them to thrive in supported environments. Ventas leverages its unmatched operational expertise, data-driven insights from its Ventas Operational InsightsTM platform, extensive relationships and strong financial position to achieve its goal of delivering outsized performance across approximately 1,400 properties. The Ventas portfolio is composed of senior housing communities, outpatient medical buildings, research centers and healthcare facilities in North America and the United Kingdom. The Company benefits from a seasoned team of talented professionals who share a commitment to excellence, integrity and a common purpose of helping people live longer, healthier, happier lives.

About Franklin Street Properties

Franklin Street Properties Corp., based in Wakefield, Massachusetts, is focused on infill and central business district (CBD) office properties in the U.S. Sunbelt and Mountain West, as well as select opportunistic markets. FSP seeks value-oriented investments with an eye towards long-term growth and appreciation, as well as current income. FSP is a Maryland corporation that operates in a manner intended to qualify as a real estate investment trust (REIT) for federal income tax purposes.